Pilot Rating Courses in New Jersey: Instrument Rating and Multi-Engine Rating

Century Air offers FAA Part 141 approved pilot rating courses at Essex County Airport (KCDW) in Caldwell, New Jersey, approximately 30 minutes from New York City. The ratings below represent the two most critical steps for any pilot building toward a commercial or airline career, and both are available as standalone courses or as part of our Professional Pilot Program.

Instrument Rating

An instrument rating allows you to fly under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR), operating in reduced visibility and clouds where VFR pilots are not permitted. For any pilot pursuing a commercial certificate or airline career, an instrument rating is a required prerequisite.  To earn an instrument rating at Century Air, you must have at least 35 hours of instrument instruction under our FAA Part 141 approved program (non-Part 141 schools require a minimum of 40 hours). A realistic completion average is approximately 50 hours. You must also pass an FAA written examination and a flight test with an FAA Designated Examiner.  Century Air instrument students train on our Garmin G1000 glass-cockpit flight simulator before transitioning to the aircraft. Our G1000 simulator is the only one of its kind in the Northeastern United States, giving Century Air students a training advantage that no other New Jersey or New York area flight school can offer. Most students complete their instrument rating in 4 to 8 months when training consistently at our Essex County Airport facility.

Multi-Engine Rating

A multi-engine rating authorizes you to act as pilot-in-command of aircraft with more than one engine. It is a required qualification for any pilot pursuing a corporate or airline career, and is a key component of the Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) certificate pathway.  Unlike most other ratings, the FAA sets no minimum flight hour requirement for the multi-engine rating, and there is no written examination. Qualification is based entirely on a flight test with an FAA Designated Examiner. Most pilots complete their multi-engine rating in 10 to 15 hours of focused training.  At Century Air, multi-engine training is conducted in our multi-engine fleet at Essex County Airport (KCDW) in Caldwell, New Jersey. The multi-engine rating is a standard component of our Professional Pilot Program, and graduates who complete this rating as part of that program are eligible for the Republic Airways guaranteed first officer interview pathway.

What makes Century Air different from other NJ flight schools? Century Air is the only Garmin G1000 simulator in the Northeast, offers a guaranteed Republic Airways interview pathway, and has insurance-approved recurrent training. Century Air serves student pilots from across the New York City metro area, including Manhattan, Brooklyn, Hoboken, Jersey City, and throughout Northern New Jersey.